Now is the time for all good Americans to come to the aid of their country

Now is the time for all good Americans to come to the aid of their country EDITOR: I remember the many stories my father told me about Pearl Harbor Day; the shock, the unbelievableness of it all; the outrage; the fear; the rush to the recruiter's office the next day; FDR, the speech. I listened and tried to imagine as best I could what he felt, what his family felt, his neighbors, this town -- this country, and yet, not until Sept 11, 2001, could I, along with my generation, the so-called &amp; quot;baby boomers &amp; quot; fully say to ourselves, &amp; quot;and now, we also know, &amp; quot; we also understand -- we are there. I watched and listened in horror to the images and accounts of those catastrophic events of that fateful day; perpetrated by merchants of terror. I knew, for my generation, things would never be the same. I understood for the first time that at times like these, there is no division based upon political parties, race, gender, nationality, religion or any in America. No longer should any citizen of America hesitate and look around, before they stand for the national anthem at sporting events; no longer should any American hesitate to embrace a fellow citizen wearing the uniform of our country's armed services; no longer should any citizen take the freedom earned by the bloodshed of our forefathers for granted; nor should they avoid voting, jury duty, honoring the war dead or raising Old Glory on days of national memorial. No longer should any foreign nation doubt the resolve of the American people to stand together in times of crisis; to not doubt that which does not weaken us, makes us that much stronger; that the world knows that Lady Liberty still stands in New York harbor; like a witness who sees someone entering her home to destroy her family -- yet remains standing, torch held high, ever beckoning: give us your tired, your poor, the huddle masses yearning to breathe free. In the final analysis, we have an opportunity to prove to ourselves, and the rest of the world, that America still shines as the the beacon of hope and freedom ... sail on oh ship of state ... sail on ... with the world as our witness, and the greatest nation on earth as our homeland, let us meet this challenge with hope, strength, unity and prayer, so that one day, we may tell our children about the Sept 11, 2001. &amp; quot;... and the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there; o say does that star spangled banner yet wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. &amp; quot; MARK COLUCCI Youngstown Heroism, unselfishness hallmark of Americans EDITOR: Words can't describe the sorrow I feel for all of the innocent families affected by this attack. At the same time I feel a strong sense of pride when I see and hear the unselfish acts of heroism from volunteers, police, firefighters, American citizens. It is my hope that time will heal the emotional scars of the victims' families, and the wrath of the U.S. is sent to the people responsible for this act. TERRY BYERS Boardman God cannot be defined by a narrow perspective EDITOR: Today on TV, I heard Billy Graham's daughter say (in effect) that the recent events in Washington and New York go to show what can happen when a country separates church from state. God, she says, has withdrawn in accordance with our wishes, and she calls for His return, presumably in response to some Congressional action. Apart from the mawkishness of this portrait of the sad and weary Father leaving His brood to the consequences of their folly, this little myth portrays God as willing to let one segment of the population determine for the whole population who and what He is and how the spiritual needs of all of His worshippers should be met. This is a dangerous proposition, unworthy of the God it purports to honor. Every person has been given reason, which is to say freedom of choice, with which to grapple with experience and to forge thereby an individual faith. Let us remember that the only role that government can legitimately play in this process is to preserve our freedom of thought and action and to help us to use our minds independently to grope toward truth. To assume that any group of people have have a right impose their opinions upon the rest is arrogance such as leads not to peace and harmony but to the strife of Northern Ireland. THOMAS A. COPELAND Youngstown Outpouring of love for families hurt by tragedy EDITOR: I think this is a terrible act these people have done. There are many people without mothers, fathers, and families. My love goes out to all of those families and many other people. God Bless America. TIFFANI ROSS Youngstown X The writer is a wife, mother and YSU student. Palestinians in Middle East horrified at events, praying for victims EDITOR: One cannot express enough horror and disbelief at the events that we have been witnessing over the past 24 hours. Our prayers are with the victims, their families and our fellow Americans during these most difficult and trying times. We applaud today's statement of Secretary of State Colin Powell who made very clear that this act of terrorism is just that, terrorism, and cannot be associated with any country, people or religion without a proper investigation of the facts. In full agreement with Secretary of State Powell, we would like to emphasize the negative repercussions of irresponsible journalism during this unfolding tragedy. Speculative reporting on the fact that some individuals have been celebrating the attacks on the U.S. is not, by the furthest stretch of the imagination, representative of the reaction of the mass majority of Palestinians. On the contrary, these attempts to stereotype an entire people in light of such a horrendous event are very dangerous and counterproductive. Placing blame on an entire people or religion will only fuel a backlash and promote unfounded attacks that Arab Americans have already begun facing across the U.S. Palestinians living under occupation are glued to their television sets like the rest of the world. The few misled Palestinians in the streets were isolated incidents and those are the images that some U.S. media have chosen to focus on. Victimized as they are, Palestinians as a community as well as their leaders, would never find joy in seeing this tragedy unfold and we deplore these individual incidents of celebrations as well as the media fallacy that Palestinians are jubilant at innocent death and destruction. All of us, American citizens and our friends here in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, have been receiving numerous phone calls from Palestinians concerned about our families and friends living in the U.S. Everyone is expressing their outright shock, condemnation and condolences at Tuesday's events. It is long overdue that the world eradicates the core of terrorism, wherever it may reside. Our prayers are with the victims, their families and all those killed or injured. HUWAIDA ARRAF Jerusalem SAM BAHOUR Al-Bireh/Ramallah X Ms. Arraf is an American citizen originally from Michigan now living in Jerusalem. Bahour, also an American citizen, is originally from Youngstown. Exact our revenge, send strong message EDITOR: I hear a lot of people talking from one extreme of nuclear retaliation, to the other extreme of being a bigger person and letting it go. The president is correct, and I respect what he said. The people who planned this should be attacked, not only as a form of revenge but as a message to other terrorist groups. We are America. Love it or leave it, but if you mess with us, you're going down. JASON REBRACA Youngstown Good to have Republican in the White House now EDITOR: I would like to say first of all that being a Republican, I am glad to have a fellow Republican in office at the White House. Bush's military resolution mentioned Wednesday, and the fact that this heinous act has been labeled an act of war, deserves nothing but that. An all-out war. I am a Scholar student at YSU and would drop everything to fight against whomever we label as responsible, for the deaths of all 40,000 to 50,000 dead demand a swift and brutal retaliation. Those responsible deserve anything that the future brings them. DALE ANTHONY PITULSKI Pittsburgh